Today, we learn that Elton Brand told Jim Gray that his legs were tired. In the very next graf, "Brand insists that he's OK."

"The jury's still out for me, until I get five rebounds a game or shoot 40%, then I'll say I'm tired," Brand said. "Once I'm over 10 boards and shooting 50, I'm not giving up that easy."

Giving up? Hey, Elton, it's only November. Shit, the leftover turkey in my fridge hasn't even turned gelatinous yet and you're talking about a hung jury about your capacity to play premium ball?

Elton's tautology is all the more aggravating because he had unilateral control over his summer schedule. Everyone cooed at Elton's globetrotting from USA Basketball to the Toronto Film Festival to Moscow to his wedding. FSN even put up a cute little Elton Brand route map prior to the opener against PHX. Meanwhile, according to the LAT on November 9, Elton confessed:

"I'm definitely mentally tired," he admitted, giving up the fight of pretending otherwise anymore. "I thought I was invincible."

If that's what he's telling the press, imagine what he's saying to his inner circle. Any number of these things - save the wedding - could've been nixed. Personally, I was annoyed then and even more pissy now that Elton played USA Basketball. Does that make me unpatriotic? Fuck you. I'm the inspector at my polling station, the guy working 18 hours on Election Day for nearly minimum wage to make sure that non-English speakers in Echo Park and the gentrifiers who love them can vote, despite the precinct's shameful history of opening late and without proper supplies. No thanks necessary. I'd do it for free. I love my fucking country. Rah.

But I hate USA Basketball.

You wanna guess how many of these patriotic players, coaches, and support staff voted on November 7? Give me an over-under. Yet, you'll hear all kinds of cheap shit - as I did from a close friend of Clipperblog who shall remain nameless - about how USA Basketball is "for the country."

As they say in the finest classical academies: Bullshit.

Just ask Michael Heisley how that Rioja tastes as he watches his Gasol-less Cubs, and he ain't even Spanish. To paraphrase Mark Cuban, how many corporations do you know that would lend out a $100 Million asset for free? Try none...except the Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, etc.

I don't care if we finished third, or first, or won $10 in a beauty contest. Doesn't matter. And I find the parlor game of coming up with alternatives for USA Basketball pointless. Personally, I think populating the roster with solid 15-20 minute-a-night NBA role players is the way to go. Let James Singleton play, or Dahntay Jones. These are professional American ballplayers who have the endurance and capacity to play 2500 minutes a year, but see less than half of that. Put them on a plane.

The point is that the Clippers aren't the team they were last year and all you have to do is watch EB to see why. Look, it's his life and his dreams and he doesn't owe me or any other fan a goddam thing. But let's stop pretending that we don't know why the Clippers are 0-6 on the road. There's a reason teams resort to bad jump shots and it's because they have no presence in the post. I'll lay some of it on Kaman and the fact that teams are doubling Elton off the ball [though George Karl has been doing that for three seasons now, including last year's playoff series]; but ask yourself, who was the best post player in the division last season? Who carried the Clippers almost every night? You wanna know what else nobody is talking about? Elton's mediocre defense this year. Watch him get pushed around in the post, and not just by opposing centers - we know he's undersized - but by the likes of Mark Blount and Rashard Lewis. Lewis, who is accustomed to killing the Clips from outside, did most of his damage from 15-in last week. Elton got absolutely shredded last night. Destroyed. Against a high post team who drove the lane at will. And that ain't all Kaman's absence. On top of that, Brand is on pace for his lowest block total since he was back in Chicago. If anything, he should be getting some of Kaman's stuffs.

This isn't to panic. I'm not putting forth anything that Elton hasn't confessed to in the press. He said he was "mentally tired"; he's the one who told Jim Gray that his legs are tired.

But, hey, it's still only November. There's nothing like an 82-game NBA schedule to help a professional basketball player get some R & R.

Addendum: Clipperblog endorses Dean Yoshitani for the Elvis Lookalike Contest tonight during the Clips-Memphis game. Yoshitani will try to follow in the footsteps of Palm Thai's "Thai Elvis," in that great tradition of Asian drag.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

Good news!

We have launched a new ClipperBlog.com site! You are currently on our old system & are viewing an archived page. We will continue to keep all 670 posts from our first 3 years on this archive site. Soon we will be closing the comments for each of these older posts.

Comments

I just gotta agree with not being happy that EB chose to play USA Basketball. Yeah yeah, Olympic medal, woo hoo. I want USA to win the gold as much as anybody, but to be frank, USA Bball hasn't been the same since '92 with the Dream Team, even Dream Team 2. I'd much rather see the Clippers succeed. And USA Bball is what, a 5 year commitment? Last season the talk of Elton's impovement was that it was the first time he had an offseason injury free where he could really work out and REST. Now with this US Bball team, every summer he's going to be dealing with that. So does this mean the next 5 years he's going to be worn out by the time the new NBA season starts? This worries me. As the franchise player, I really wish he wouldn't have made such a lenghty commitment to the USA team. Back in the day is was just for that summer Olympics. Now the guy has to put his body through stenuous practices all summer? And to what prevail? A bronze medal and an exhausted mental and physical which is hurting the overall team, not to mention himself personally. EB, PLEASE REST!

completely agree about team usa. i'm a selfish bastard, and i want MY team (the clips, duh) to win a whole lot more than team usa. it sucks even worse when the organization is run by imbeciles who don't know how to put these players that sacrifice their time in a position to succeed. whatever.

at the same time, i'm not willing to fault eb for his decision to play for team usa. he's a grown man (a genuinely nice one), and he can make his own choices. let's not forget, it was his hard work and dedication the previous off-season that catapaulted him to elite status. we're all aware he overextended himself this summer, and i'm sure he's aware now too. lesson learned, don't make the same mistake again. we gotta somehow find a way to get eb some rest (both mental and physical) this season, or else it's going to be a long off-season.

USA Basketball. Rest of the world want them. America doesn't. NBA players shouldn't be playing for this team because NBA teams signed these players to play exclusively for their teams. If NBA askes these players to play for their country, they can do so only if owners of these teams OK's their participation. If these owners OK's it without asking for compensation for renting their players, that's surprising.

If rookies and bench players of NBA wants to go overseas, that's fine. But players who get paid more than 6 million dollars per season shouldn't be allowed to go.

BRAND will be fine. He wanted to experience USA Basketball atleast once. And he did. That's OK if Donald Sterling doesn't complain.

DAVE,
If you think EB will be fine you're crazy. If he's tired now, how will he feel in another 50 games? It's time the owners took a stand. The players have their guaranteed contracts and will get paid whether they have a good season or not. It's the owners who have to deal with empty seats due to underperforming players and losing teams. They're the ones who have to say NO MAS. If this is what the owners have to contend with then they must end this nonsense.
Arnie M.

Yes, I blame EB. He has to make his own decisions. He knew what he did in the summer of 05, and he saw the results. With hindsight it seems obvious that it should be a priority to go back and try to do the exact same thing the next summer. It was already a big enough difference that the the 04-05 Clipper season ended in April, while this year EB played extra hard through May.

But I also blame MD. He's the one who pushed and challenged EB to expand and raise the level of his game. MD saw what happened to Jaric with international play, and in 04 he helped Jaric decide not to play in freaking Olympics. Summer O5 Jaric brawls with Serbian teammates and is exhausted when he finally parks the Lambourghini in Minnesota, gets off to a horrible start. MD should have been screaming for EB to limit his summer commitments and to tell Coach K to fuck off.

Duke's beloved megalomaniac is the prime culprit, in my mind. A big part of Coach K's character building, in case anybody hasn't noticed, is about making Coach K look good. There's no doubt that Coach K played the guilt card with EB and appealed to his patriotism, loyalty, good nature, all to serve the purpose of letting Coach K stack his team. What makes it more annoying is that Team USA foolishly played small ball the whole time, and EB saw very limited minutes and almost none of them at PF with another big man on the floor. So he went through the grind of travel, lots of practice, and his own excellent game preparation, just to watch Carmelo, Lebron, and Wade jack up shots, and had a good chance to see his future Clipper teammate kill Kurt Hinrich on the pick-and-roll and make Coach K cry.

Lets not hate on Donald Sterling right now. Yes, we all know his history of being a cheap bastard when it came to letting players walk. But now he has opened the wallet and made a big effort to build a solid team. So gold or money for Sterling? If it means a stronger Clipper team I'm riding with Donald. There's enough players in the league to fill roster spots on team USA. I want the Clippers franchise player saving his energy for the Clippers. Clearly USA win a gold with a roster of NBA superstars anymore. So I side with Arnie in saying that the high powers in the office need to step in and protect their investment. Well, maybe just EB. If Lebron, D-Wade and all the others want to be exhausted during the NBA season, so be it. That just makes it a little easier for the Clippers.

I completely disagree with the overall tone that USA basketball is such a big problem. The issue is when guys don't allow themselves downtime. Physically and mentally. If you work too hard too long you become numb and indifferent. To win you gotta be hungry, so it is important to let yourself go sometimes and allow you body and mind to rebuild. EB put too much on himself this offseason, no doubt, and now he is numb. Next summer if he relaxes and isn't concerned about performing for four - six weeks following the season and then picks up playing again with Team USA, plus takes a 4-6 week break between Team USA and training camp he will be fine. Granted he will be in slightly worse shape coming into training camp, but his mind will be fresh which its is all about at his level. The dude need to realize he isn't 20 anymore and his ability to learn is declining and therefore his need to practice is also declining. As long as he is in good shape and mentally sharp he will perform. Insane shape but numb => 4 for 15!

I don't hate Sterling. He gives me a team to root for. I give him my money (and control over my emotions).

I was proud that a player from my beloved Clippers represented my country. At the end of the day, I love America more than Sterling's Clippers, and would rather see USA win the gold than a Larry O'Brien trophy in Donald T.'s trophy case.

I don't think USA Basketball is a "problem." EB's fatigue is a problem. Whether it stems from playing in the World Championships, climbing K2, or doing, like, four Ironmans over the summer, makes no difference to me. If it depletes his strength and ability to compete, then it's a problem.

As a side note, I tend to find competitions between nations tribal, silly and, at best, a little too quaint in today's world. I prefer substance over symbolism, but that's a conversation for another day.

USA Ball, Pre Seasons in Russia, and getting hitched (by the way have you seen E.B.s Super Fine Wife?!?) of course he's f*ckin tired! but he is a professional. I agree that MD should have checked E.B.s US commitments and kept them to a minimum but put yourself in Elton's shoes:: The chance to play starting PF for supposedly the Best compiled team in the World??? C'mon bro, you would say yes too. Im in pain watching what were going through but i do beleive it will get better... Its only November! Besides, its not Brand i'm worried about..Hes got too much heart not to step up... Its Kaman who we should be bitchin at! 55 mill man!

I don't think it was just the USA basketball. Guys like LeBron and Shane Battier are showing plenty of energy right now and they were over there too. EB did too many other things also. His movie promotions, his marriage, (didn't he spend extra time in Asia also promoting something?), and especially the trip to Russia right before preseason. He was just busy the whole summer, not just for USA basketball. But he really needs to get going soon because the Western Conference is way too good this year to be losing serious ground like this.

Not to change the subject, but I was just noticing something tonight. Brand had a good game against the Griz, but no assists. Is that normal for a guy who gets so much attention everytime he touches the ball to have zero assists?

Craig-
I was wondering the same thing...He did attempt a couple terrible passes to A.Williams though. Did anyone also notice that EB tried to go strong on a couple continuation plays and ended up flat?? Seems like he didnt have enough legs to finish his Jams for possible 3point plays. Looked like a bad sprite commercial.

Hey Pepper,
You're not choosing between a gold for the USA or putting money in Sterling's pocket. You're choosing between a gold medal and a Clippers championship. Are you really a Clippers fan? Even with a hand picked NBA team we didn't win. Do we want to keep this up for 4 years? I don't think so.
Thanks for the support Todd.

Playing for your country is great, but the qualifying tournaments, training, etc. is too much wear and tear on a body. NBA players need an off-season to recouperate and get rested for the upcoming season. This is bad news for the Clips and for Brand. When is he going to get rested?

There are many good , young players who couldn't make it to NBA. If NBA can pick atleast 25 players every year and groom them for International Basketball, that would be great. NBA is rich enough to allocate enough funds on these players. If NBA loves USA, this is one of the ways to prove it. To win world championship, year-long total coomitment is required. Asking NBA players to sign up for this tournament is ridiculous.

There are many good , young players who couldn't make it to NBA. If NBA can pick atleast 25 players every year and groom them for International Basketball, that would be great. NBA is rich enough to allocate enough funds on these players. If NBA loves USA, this is one of the ways to prove it. To win world championship, year-long total coomitment is required. Asking NBA players to sign up for this tournament is ridiculous.

04/11/08 19:04:15

Add Comment

This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it